


To party with fae

by DraniKitty



Series: Tales from the Garbage Court [5]
Category: The Yogscast
Genre: Fae manipulation, Sneaking Out, Urban Magic Yogs, dubious consent of background characters, i'm running out of tags i can think of off the top of my head, please tell me if i should use a specific tag, possibly alcohol abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-17
Updated: 2016-01-17
Packaged: 2018-05-14 14:12:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5747440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DraniKitty/pseuds/DraniKitty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Will's just moved to the city, a place full of light and noise and many things he could potentially make explode by accident. He hopes his uncle can help him control his blossoming power, but then his cousins convince him to sneak out to a party.</p>
            </blockquote>





	To party with fae

**Author's Note:**

> At the time I'm posting this(1/17/16), it's actually been done for MONTHS, but there's supposed to be another story between this and To Crown a King... I just got tired of waiting to finish THAT to post THIS, ROFL. So while this is a bit short compared to the stories on either side of it, it's still posted now!

The first night Will was in the city, his phone buzzed. He looked at it, brow furrowing. The message wasn't cryptic, but it certainly felt random... And like one he shouldn't ask his uncles about. Instead, he went to his cousins.

It had been confusing, at first, that both were named Lalna. He wasn't nearly as confused by their... Could it be called a birth? Magic was involved, he knew that, and as he'd grown up, they had, too, so it didn't much matter to him how they came into the world or were part of the family. The only thing that bothered him was the fact both were named Lalna. So he called them by their middle names instead.

The twins were in their room, working on... Really, who knew what. They'd always been creative, showing off signs of both of their parents in how they acted in their very mannerisms. Neither one looked up when Will slipped in, not even when he spoke.

"Hey, do either of you know what this is about?" He crouched where they sat on the floor, showing them his phone.

One Lalna, wearing a shirt accented red, Hector, took the phone, then showed his brother, accented in blue. The blue brother's face cracked into a grin. "Will, you lucky son of a bitch!"

"Hey!"

"No, no, you don't get it! This is an invitation to one of the biggest parties in the city! People don't get actual INVITATIONS to it!"

He looked at his cousin skeptically, then glanced at the other. "Okay, so... What's that mean?"

Lalna Hector took the phone back. "Show it to the bouncer at the door, you might get sent to the VIP section!"

His eyes narrowed. "Wait... You've both been?"

The twins laughed, before Lalna Coffee(Okay, that wasn't really his middle name, but Will swore every time he saw his blue-clad cousin, he had a cup of coffee in his hand.. It was a nickname that ended up sticking) motioned with his right hand. "Of COURSE we've been! We didn't get personal INVITES, but we've BEEN!"

"And how angry were your parents...?"

The twins fell silent, both looking up at the ceiling, making hand motions. They were doing that silent communication thing twins did... It was unsettling. Finally, Lalna Hector spoke up, "We were grounded for six months."

"And our stuff was taken away..."

"No phones."

"No computers."

They both did a full-body shudder and spoke at once. "No science..."

Will's eyebrows went up. "That mad... How'd you even find out about it?"

Lalna Coffee shrugged, "Heard some kids in the bathroom talkin' about it at school... So we snuck out and went. There's SO much alcohol, they don't even CARD you!"

Will frowned, taking his phone back. "So should I even g-" He didn't even get to finish asking the question before they both grabbed him by the shoulders, their steel-blue eyes wide.

"YES!"

Hector jabbed him in the chest. "This is a rare opportunity! Take it and run with it!"

Coffee squeezed his left shoulder. "You won't get a chance like this again, Will! You gotta go to this party!"

He chewed his lip, looking from his cousins to his phone. Finally, he sighed. "I can't believe I'm letting you talk me into this..." He was left wondering, how much would he come to regret this?

 

* * *

 

The house was quiet. Will strained his ears as he lay in his bed, listening for any sounds of either of his uncles. His cousins he wasn't so worried about. After all, both Lalnas were encouraging him to go, so why would they stop him? If anything, he more expected them to FOLLOW.

No, it was his uncles he worried about. More specifically he worried about Xephos stopping him. Or what else he might do... He'd grown up on a farm, where they didn't really rely on magic, but it was very well known. His mother had warned him not against magic, but to not anger magic users, and Xephos was a VERY strong hedge witch, with an easily frayed temper.

The warning had, essentially, boiled down to "Don't make your uncle mad."

He wasn't keen on it, but a curiosity had been imbedded in him about this party and what it entailed.

His phone buzzed and he looked at it.

They're dead to the world asleep. Best sneak out now.

Thank the stars for cousins... Between the first text about the party and the message to get out the door now, another had arrived to bring a mask and dress sharp. What kind of mask did he even HAVE? What he'd found ended up being a rabbit mask, the remnant of some masquerade his uncles or cousins had gone to some time ago.

He wasn't the least bit surprised when he got downstairs to find both Lalnas dressed for the party, one holding a mask shaped like a broad- but sharp-beaked blue bird and the other a red panda. "Since none of us drives, how are we getting there?" There was no question about them going.

Lalna Hector's mouth opened, then closed, as his brow furrowed. "Bus?"

The other Lalna crossed his arms. "No way are we going to this in a BUS."

Will rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Let's just start walking, we'll figure it out on the way. It'll do no good to argue here or we'll have to deal with Xephos angry at all of us!"

Both Lalanas closed their mouths, looked at each other, then headed quietly down the stairs and out the front door with Will.

The three got a few blocks down the road when a green SUV pulled over and the driver leaned out. "Well ain't you three dressed up to the nines? And are those MASKS? Goin' to a masquerade, mates?"

Will started toward the car, only to be grabbed by Lalna Coffee. When he looked at his cousin with confusion, Coffee shook his head. "Will, do NOT get a ride from him, he's fae!"

Lalna Hector pushed his brother and cousin along, glaring at the man in the car. "Go away, we'll walk if we have to!"

"Aw, mates, don't be like THAT... Just a ride to your party? I'm sure we're goin' the same way!"

"Nope, not interested!"

"Just a lift, all I'm offerin'!"

Lalna Coffee shot the driver a glare. "There is NO way in HELL we're getting in a car with you! Our fathers warned us about your kind!"

The tires didn't have far to do it, but they still screeched as the car came to a stop. Will and the Lalanas went from walking fast to outright sprinting as the driver got out. "MY kind?! What's that even- Get back here!" He watched them hop onto a bus, then cursed and got back in. There went bragging rights, bagging twins and... What was the other guy, their friend, their cousin? Their fraternal triplet? It DID happen... He recalled meeting some cousins like that.

On the bus, Will rubbed his face. "That almost went horribly, horribly wrong... Didn't it?"

"Very."

"Absolutely."

Lalna Hector draped an arm around his cousin, leaning on him. "Will, you REALLY need to be careful. See, we're lucky... We can see through the tricks of the fae."

He looked at Hector funny. "How IS that, exactly?" He then looked to the other Lalna, and then back and forth as they both shrugged. He pointed back and forth between them. "I'm only really questioning now HOW you two were even..."

Lalna Coffee waved his hand dismissively. "Not importan right now. Thing to remember is fae charm don't work on us, and we apparently need to babysit you!"

"Like a baby.."

Their cousin's face flushed crimson. "I'm not a baby!"

They both elbowed him. "Yes you are." They got a tongue stuck out at them in response.

 

* * *

 

 

The bus dropped them off a few miles from where the party was happening. The area was within the industrial district of the city, full of buildings from a bygone era when children darted in and out of giant machines to collect detritus. The music could be heard coming from somewhere within the area, and it didn't take long to find the old building.

It was hard to miss, after all, with the throngs of people waiting to get in while light and noise spilled out.

It was even louder inside.

His cousins had promptly vanished off into the crowd(He half doubted that was actually by CHOICE, there were so many people), dancing with who knew who or what, leaving Will to skirt the edges of the dance floor.

So much for babysitting him. Not that he minded, since family hovering over him had been irritating at best. He gave an impassive shrug at the thought, before picking his way through the bodies to find... He wasn't really sure what he was looking for, actually. As he reached the bar and leaned on it, he noted that people seemed to be so easily lost in the music and crush that they lost awareness of each other and themselves.

No, wait, there were a few people all TOO aware of each other... He averted his eyes.

Somebody took up the space next to him. "Usual, Ravsy!"

Will glanced over at the man standing next to him. The man was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, and he didn't wear a mask. Instead, he wore a baseball hat with a little gold crowl sewn onto it. Which when Will thought on it, he didn't look the type to really fit in at a rave like this. He looked like he was up there in his uncle's age bracket, like he was somebody's dad. Despite this, he seemed to be a regular enough that the bartender brought him a drink without asking for specifics. His usual, as it were.

"Not sure why you're down here at THIS bar."

"Because you're not up there at the other bar."

"Right... And for you, in black and red?"

The older man in the baseball cap, not having even bothered to wear a mask, turned toward Will, who jumped slightly at both being addressed and stared at. "Oh, um..." He looked at the bartender, blinking owlishly. "Long island iced tea?"

"One long island, coming up!" The bartender ducked away, setting to mixing things, murmuring the recipe to himself.

"Somebody's skittish."

Will blinked at the man, frowning. "Sorry, just... Um..." He drummed his fingers on the bar. "Not been to one of these before." Or any clubs, actually. "This is more the kind of thing my cousins do, but... My phone actually buzzed with an invite.."

The look the man in the hat gave him was a mix of surprise and confusion, and even the bartender, Ravsy, was surprised. "INVITE? Nobody gets INVITED to these, not DIRECTLY."

He gave a shrug. "Maybe my phone was acting up, then." He wasn't about to mention that his phone was probably being influenced by his technomagic, and from the looks of it, the texts he'd gotten were actually meant for somebody else. He accepted the drink before him and went to take a sip, before he stopped. "Why are you so surprised, anyway?"

It was the man with the baseball hat on drumming his fingers this time. "Oh... No reason. Just never heard of it before. Hey, I'm gonna be right back." He grabbed his drink and left the bar, vanishing into the crowd. Will watched him go, then shrugged, turning back to his own drink. He stirred the straw around, but didn't sip at it, ignoring the way Ravsy watched him, even while serving drinks.

At some point, Lalna Coffee slid up to the bar, leaning next to Will and pushing his mask up. "Will, you gotta come out here and dance! It's GREAT!" He turned and pointed. "And look, I met a new friend! This is... What did you say your name was again?"

The girl that followed Coffee smiled ever so sweetly, "You can just call me Nano."

Will looked down at her(It wasn't exactly hard, she had to be a full foot shorter than both of them), one eyebrow up. "Nice tattoos there, Nano."

She kept smiling in that sweet way that was setting Will on edge. "Thank you." She tugged on Lalna Coffee's arm. "Come on, let's go dance some more!"

Lalna Coffee grinned, then waved to Will. "Have fun hanging out at the bar!" He vanished off into the crowd again, pulling his mask back down.

Will wondered momentarily why she wasn't wearing a mask, then turned back to his drink. He lifted his own out of the way, prepared to take a drink, when the man in the baseball hat returned. "Oh, hey, you came back."

"Oh, hey, you took your mask off. Afraid of what being a rabbit in here would mean?"

He blinked, then shrugged, stirring his drink with his straw. It scraped the sides of the cheap plastic cup. "Nah, was just gonna take a drink when you walked up." He leaned over, taking the straw in his mouth and sucking down some of the beverage. He made a face, leaning back.

The man in the crown hat scratched his cheek. "Ravs, you can't make a long island for shit, can you?" He took the cup, sniffing it, then sipped... And promptly put it down, coughing to the side. "WOW. I thought you were a bartender! There's too much of something in here and I can taste the alcohol!"

Ravs crossed his arms on the bar, openly scowling. "I can't help it that none of the kids that come to these parties don't order long island iced teas. Mixing drinks is like skills - Use it or lose it!"

"Yeah, well, start making more and test them yourself if you have to!" He turned to say something to Will again, only to find him gone. "Hey, where'd the rabbit go?"

"Hell if I know. My job's to get them drunk, not watch where they go once they ARE. You know whose job THAT is!"

Sips let out a sigh, rubbing his face. "Well shit, I was starting to like that kid."

Elsewhere, Will was skirting the edge of the party again. If a long island iced tea tasted like that coming from the bar, he wasn't sure he wanted to try anything else! Somebody too busy snogging their partner against a wall managed to bump him, and the next thing he knew, he was out in the middle of the floor, people dancing all around him, and his mask had somehow wound up pulled back down. He looked around, feeling the barest fuzz of the alcohol on his senses, and some part of his mind screamed at him to get out of the crowd and back to the edge.

But then he caught a glance of a flash of blue, a mask that looked like an owl, and a pair of blue eyes looking out at him. He blinked, transfixed for a moment, before the owl was gone. He licked his lips under the mask, then pushed through the people, wanting to catch the owl.

God, what was he doing? He was wearing a rabbit mask, and chasing somebody in an owl mask. How messed up was that? It was an upending of the natural order of the world, the prey hunting the predator.

His thoughts were cut off as somebody backed into him. Will stumbled, starting to fall, only for a strong hand to catch him. He looked up, finding somebody staring at him through a leopard mask(Or was it a jaguar?). "I am SO sorry about that, are you alright?"

Will could only nod, transfixed by the stranger. Something about his voice seemed familiar, but the thought was pushed out of his mind by the sudden close proximity. "Uh, yeah, I'm... Uh... I was just..." What had happened to his ability to speak?

The man in the leopard mask grinned behind his mask, then gently placed a hand on Will's lower back. "Well, how about I get you a drink to make up for that blunder? As an apology..." He started to walk, then got stopped by the distinct tug of Will NOT following.

He shook his head, making a face under his own mask. "I tried a long island iced tea at the bar, it was terrible! It wasn't balanced right!" He could have been biased, though. Nothing compared to the mixed drinks his dad made back on the farm.

"Well, the bartender's doing a shit job, then. Come on, I'll take you to the other bar, get you a proper drink." He turned, guiding Will toward the stairs up to the floor above.

The railing looked out over the main dance floor, where people danced in a tight group. How they all fit down there, and how he'd even been able to get through, Will didn't think he'd ever know. He stood staring over it all, frowning just a bit. Where were his cousins? He knew they had to be in there somewhere, but where?

His thoughts were cut off when the leopard returned, handing him a glass. "Here you go, one long island iced tea!"

"Oh, um... Thanks..." He lifted his mask slightly, prepared to take a sip, when he spied the owl again. Up here, it wasn't nearly as crowded, and and it was easier to see him. He couldn't help staring a bit open-mouthed at the fact that whoever this was... They had a tail trailing behind them.

The leopard leaned over, looking where Will was. "Oh, nice eye, mate! But... Surely I'm much better..."

Will looked at him, frowning just a bit. "Just admiring the costume... That's some dedication, adding a plastic tail like that." He ignored the snort of laughter beside him.

As he was once again preparing to take a drink from the straw, he noticed somebody else walk up - The man in the baseball hat. He blinked, lowering the glass. Beside him, the leopard was getting increasingly frustrated. Will pointed at the hatted man, voicing his surprise, "I saw him down at the other bar! How's he up here..?" He looked at the leopard, having to incline his head just a bit. The other person had to have at least three inches on him.

"Oh, Sips? He's our VIP. You know, you're looking a bit thirsty..."

Yet again, Will lifted the drink to his mouth, this time starting to drink it as he turned to look out at the dance floor. He let out a happy sound, closing his eyes. "Oh my God this is good!"

"That's good... Say... Did you want to go somewhere private?" The leopard leaned in, a grin hidden by his mask.

Will looked at him, frowning behind his own. "I'm good here, actually... I'm more interested in people watching than anything." He looked back down at the dance floor. It wasn't that he wasn't interested in people themselves, it was that he hadn't even been sure about coming to this party in the first place. He was much less sure about dancing with people. His thoughts stopped as he heard the frustrated sound beside him. "What?" He looked at the man in the leopard mask.

"I've been hittin' on you for a solid ten minutes, are you oblivious?"

"No, I'm just not INTERSTED." He held up his now half-empty cup. "Even with this in my system. I can hold my alcohol pretty well."

The man in the leopard mask let out a second frustrated sound. "Oh, for the love of..." He turned, walking off. "ROSS!"

Will sighed, turning away and going back to sipping his drink, watching the people below. As he drained the last of it, he contemplated getting another.

A hand on his shoulder made him jump, letting out a yelp as the glass flew a couple inches in the air and the lights suddenly surged. His hands fumbled as he tried to catch the glass, before another hand reached up and grabbed it. He looked, wide-eyed, at the owl. "Sorry, you, uh.. You... REALLY startled me there."

"I see that..." The owl looked around. "It can't be coincidental the lights did that when you jumped..."

Under his mask, Will flushed. "Can we keep that between you and me?"

The owl lifted his mask, offering Will a smile that made his breath catch. "Perhaps... For a price..."

"And that would be..."

"Your name would suffice."

"Oh.. Um..." He shifted, not lifting his mask. "Will. Just... Call me Will." He was fairly sure those glimmering horns on the man's face weren't fake, and even with the drink in his system, he had just enough mind to not give his full name. Names had power in a city like this.

"Will..." He stuck a hand out. "You can call me Ross." He shook Will's hand, both feeling that quiet buzz of magic that was everywhere. "Would you care for another drink?"

"Oh, yeah... Thanks, Ross."

 

* * *

 

At the other end of the bar, Smith had abandoned his mask, leaning on the bar and watching Ross talking amiably enough with the man in the rabbit mask. Beside him, Sips held a cup. "Looking a bit salty there, Smiffy."

Smith gave him a look, then huffed. "I got him up here, I got him to take a drink, I was so CLOSE, and then I got rebuffed! Nobody rebuffs me like that!"

Sips took a drink, then glanced at Smith. "Trott does, but then your magic doesn't work on him as much as his doesn't work on you. Tomatoes and apples and all that shit."

"No, this is something else... There's something about him... Did you see how the lights got brighter when Ross startled him?" He ran his hands through his hair. "Maybe he's part of that horned shitlord's court, and he's protected by his magic..."

"Maybe... Or maybe he's a witch."

Smith leaned against the bar again, arms crossed. "No... Witches not in the court don't come to our parties. Not without wanting something." He tapped the fingers of his right hand on his left arm, thinking a moment, then pushed away from the bar. "I'm getting Trott."

"Happy hunting!" Sips held up his cup, then went back to drinking.

Smith gave a wave, picking through the more minimal private crowd. Very unlike the populace down below, there were maybe five humans total. Sips was one, the guy in the rabbit mask was another, the rest were either behind the bar or going around with drinks. The rest of the people in the more private party were more of the magical variety, and it didn't take long for Smith to find the object of his search. "Trott!"

Trott looked up from the conversation he'd been having, giving Smith a curious look. "What's got YOUR knickers in a bunch?"

"I got rebuffed!"

"Maybe it's time to put you out to pasture, then." The joke prompted several snickers, and a scathing glare from Smith.

"Yes, very nice, a horse joke. Maybe you'd be more interested in why the lights flashed a few minutes ago."

Trott took a sip of his drink, thoughtful. "I DID wonder about that... Was it a power surge?"

Smith shook his head, "No, it happened RIGHT when Ross startled this guy I brought up here."

He swirled his drink in his glass, before setting it on the glass on a tray passing by. "Show me." Trott followed Smith back to the bar, standing with him and Sips, staring at this person Ross was now engrossed in conversation with.

He noted the numbers of bottles and glasses already starting to accumulate on the bar with them both. "Is that all just between the two of them?"

Sips contemplated the ice in his glass, then looked over at the pair down at the other end of the bar. "What, that? Nah, I just asked the bartender to put empty bottles and glasses near them, see how long it took them to notice. Ross gave me the stink-eye."

Smith bit back a snort of laughter, despite his irritation. "He's the one that rebuffed me."

Trott sighed, a long and exasperated sound. "Smith, go find somebody ELSE to murderfuck. There's plenty of people downstairs." He waved Smith away, then went over to Ross and what was apparently his new friend. "Ross, who's your friend?"

Ross gave a thump on his new friend's back. "This is Will! He likes video games."

"I see... Hello, Will, I'm Trott.. I need to borrow Ross for a moment. How about you have another... What was in this glass? Have another one." He waved to the bartender, pointing at the empty glass, then tugged Ross away."

"Aw, Trott... I was having a good time talking to him!"

As soon as they were clear of Will's presence, Trott turned to Ross, "I can see that... And what else have you learned besides he likes video games? Because the only people we bring up here from the floor are dead by this point in the night."

Ross was thoughtful, starting to open his mouth, then stopped. "One thing I can't say since I said I wouldn't tell."

Trott could only sigh again, then ushered Ross. "Go keep him busy, this is turning into a puzzle." As Ross walked away, Trott went back over to Sips. "Where did this guy even COME from?"

Sips shrugged. "No idea, but you want freaky? He got a text about the party, like an invite."

Trott looked at him funny. "We don't send INVITATIONS. We send RUMORS and people SHOW UP. Nobody gets INVITED."

"Yeah, surprised me and Ravsy, too." He tilted the glass back, catching an ice cube to suck on it.

Trott strummed his fingers on the bar, frowning. The puzzle seemed to grow more complex, the more he knew, and none of it pointed at an answer. And a puzzle that didn't have an easy to find answer frustrated him.

Sips pointed at Ross and Will. "Whatever's going on, you don't see Ross making friends that often anymore. Usually he's attached to you, me, or Smith. And, face it... We're jaded, and Smith's a questionable influence."

"Are you suggesting we take him home like a stray dog?"

He gave Trott a pointed look. "Do you REALLY think Ross is gonna let Smiffy murderfuck the guy at this point? Plus a frustrated Smiffy's fun to watch."

Turning his back to the bar and crossing his arms, Trott thought about the image of a frustrated Smith. "Okay, that IS pretty funny..." He looked at Sips. "You're not just suggesting this because you're wanting another human around, are you? Because you have that bowling league you go to..."

"I'm suggesting it because there's something about that kid, and even humans reach a point they live long enough they know shit's gonna hit the fan soon. Think about it like a chess board.. I'm the king, you're the queen-"

"Why am I the queen?"

"Because you act like Smith and Ross' mother. Ross is the rook, and Smith is the knight. We have lots of pawns to go around..." Sips motioned around the room, where many fae and a couple witches mingled. "But we have no bishop."

Trott chewed on his lip, thinking on it, then nodded. "You DO have a point... But the question is, how do we get him in? We got YOU in by not killing you, oh king of misrule."

Sips laughed, walking behind the bar to grab the jar of cocktail cherries. "I don't think that's gonna work on this kid. He's smart enough to reject Smiffy!" He opened the jar, leaning foreward on the bar beside Trott as he plucked one out. "The question is, what does this kid want that we could offer him?" He held the cherry out, looking down the bar at where Ross was now practically holding the kid up as the latter laughed.

Trott leaned over, biting the offered cherry, then leaned against the bar, chewing slowly in thought. As he swallowed, he frowned. "This might take a lot more time than we like..."

 

* * *

 

Where had they gone?! Lalna Hector pushed through the crowd, his bird mask pushed up so it no longer covered his face. He'd turned around to look at something, and both his brother and his cousin were gone. He'd caught a glimpse of Will by the bar at one point, before the crowd closed and he got momentarily lost in the dance, false assurance that WIll would stay put. Then his watch had beeped and he'd gone to collect Will so they could find Lalna Coffee...

And Will wasn't at the bar. Panic had taken hold. He searched along the wall, soon finding his brother in an alcove of the old building, holding up a woman who had to be a full foot shorter than him. "COFFEE!"

Lalna Coffee jumped, gasping in surprise, then looked at his brother. A grin spread on his flushed face. "There you are! Lost you in the crowd!"

"Yes, you lost me in the crowd... You wanna know what ELSE got lost in the crowd?"

"My sense of shame?" One hand slid down, causing the woman in his arms to purr. "This is Nano, by the way!"

"Nice to meet you, Nano. Put her down, we have to find Will!"

Lalna Coffee's mind cleared of everything but the panic that started to rise. "Wait, Will's missing? I saw him at the bar!"

"So did I!" Lalna Hector paced, threading his fingers into his hair and tugging in frustration. "But now he's NOT at the bar, and I don't know where he is, and we have to find him, because it's time to go so we can get home before Dad and Father wake up, and-"

"Oh shit, Father's going to KILL us!"

Nano, lowering herself to the floor, pointed up. "Isn't that him up there?"

Both men turned and looked at where she was pointing and, in a rather high pitch, both screamed, "WILL!" They both ran off, weaving through the dancing crowd.

Nano could only watch in amusement, before trailing after them. This was a curious family, and she was intent on finding out more about them.

* * *

 

Will surfaced from the haze on his mind enough to hear his phone going off. He fished it out and looked, then grinned. "Oh, hey! One of my cousins is calling me!"

Ross peeked, then grinned at Will. "I think you should answer it, ask where they vanished off to, leaving you alone like that..."

"Yeah, I think I will." He slid his finger across the screen, lifting the phone to his ear. "Hey, Lalnable!"

On the other end, Lalna Hector let out a frustrated sound. "Will, get DOWN here, we have to go! We gotta get home before Dad and Father wake up!"

"What if I'm having fun?"

"Don't care! Get down here, we're not in to getting in trouble!"

"Party pooper! Fine..." He hung up, offering Ross an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry... I gotta go... My mom warned me about not pissing my uncle off, and... I'm keen on NOT pissing him off."

Ross raised an eyebrow, then placed his hand on the small of Will's back. "Then please, let me walk you down there." He ushered Will, guiding him carefully down the stairs. As he watched Will and his cousins leave, he crossed his arms, tilting his head in thought before heading back up to find Trott.

By now, Trott was sitting on the bar cross-legged. "Your friend leave, sunshine?"

Ross let out a hum, leaning his forehead against Trott's shoulder. "He's different, that Will..."

Sips fished another cherry out. "Yeah, we were discussing that. Say, Ross, how'd you like it if you had a new friend? Somebody far less jaded by the world than the rest of us."

Ross' eyes flicked up to Sips. "What do you mean?" He leaned over when the cherry was offered, taking it from Sips' fingers with his teeth.

"Well, you may be the oldest one here, but you're still like a kid. Everything in the world fascinates you." He fished yet another cherry out, offering this one to Trott. "And your friend there's about the age when he can start putting that youthful curiosity to use..."

Trott leaned back, placing his hands on the bar behind him. "He'd be useful to us, too. If he can control electricity and electronic things, the city'll be our oyster." No security system would ever keep them out. "Plus, send him out to find people for Smith, and we can see just how foolish these people are." They knew better than to trust fae, yet they still did it. They didn't seem to have as much warning about other humans. How much would they trust a human at a fae party? Especially one who was their age.

Smith returned at that moment, hair and clothes wet. He sat on the bar behind Trott, letting out a sigh. "Not the one I really wanted, but..."

Trott gave his thigh a pat. "Sorry, sunshine, but the rabbit's off limits."

"WHAT?!" He turned to Trott, anger flashing in his eyes. "But I wanted to-"

"I know what you want, but what WE want is superceding what YOU want. It'd be a shame to lose a person like that from the world. And you'd make Ross upset. Do you want Ross upset at you?" He reached up, scratching his fingers through Ross' hair in just the right spot.

Smith looked at Ross, who was leaning into the touch. He let out a sigh, "No..." He crossed his arms, looking a bit like a petulant child.

Swallowing a cherry he'd been eating, Sips grinned, "I told you, Trott, you're like their mom. That makes you the queen on the chess board."

While Smith and Ross looked at Sips in confusion, Trott simply grinned and flipped him off.

 

* * *

 

On the bus home, Will leaned against Lalna Coffee, having fallen asleep. Lalna Hector checked his phone, making sure there were no calls or text messages from their parents. "I think we may actually make it."

Lalna Coffee frowned, pulling his red panda mask off his head. "You said that LAST time and we were STILL caught."

"Yeah, but it's only 3am this time. Last time we left at 5." He got up as the bus reached their stop, shaking Will. "Come on, get up, time to walk."

Will mumbled, clinging to Lalna Coffee before finally getting up. As the three walked toward the house, the exhaustion of the night started to catch up, and it took a supreme effort to be quiet as they snuck back in and up the stairs. They were all asleep as soon as they lay in their beds.

Xephos, meanwhile, stared at the ceiling, twiddling his thumbs calmly on top of the blankets. He'd let them sleep... THEN he'd give his sons and nephew Hell for sneaking out. Or maybe he'd let them think they got away with it and spring it on them that he knew, just to watch their panic.


End file.
